UEFA Champions League 2017/18, Juventus v Tottenham: Player Ratings

February 14, 2018

Image Courtesy - Bucks Free Press Series

Tottenham Hotspur fans were hanging on to their all-so-near comeback performance against Inter Milan all those years ago as the only Champions League moment worth savoring, however, Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen changed all that with an inspiring comeback to seal a 2-2 draw in the 1st leg of UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie. Here, we look at the Juventus v Tottenham Player ratings.

Juventus vs Tottenham Player Ratings

Juventus took an early 2-0 lead courtesy 2 quickfire goals from Gonzalo Higuain with the first goal coming after just 2 minutes (quickest goal for Juventus in their UEFA Champions League history). Tottenham never looked out of the game but Juventus did have a couple of massive chances to seal the game with a 3-0 lead including a late penalty miss by Gonzalo Higuain.

Harry Kane pulled one back for the away side and second half saw Tottenham press the Juventus side higher and did not allow any room or freedom for Miralem Pjanic to work his magic. Eventually, Eriksen showed his brilliance with a smart free-kick down the wall and leveled the tie on the night. Spurs now have crucial 2 away goals which could see them qualify for the quarterfinals as the 2nd leg will be played at their home – Wembley Stadium.

Juventus Player Ratings vs Tottenham

Gianluigi Buffon (5.5/10)

Made a huge save from Harry Kane’s headed effort from just 5 yards out when the game was at 2-0, however, Kane’s swift movement (1st goal) Eriksen’s brilliance (2nd goal) fooled Buffon to end the game 2-2 on the night.

Mattia De Sciglio (6.5/10)

Mattia de Sciglio was a constant threat going forward for the home side and did a fair job on keeping Erik Lamela quiet throughout the night.

Mehedi Benatia (5.5/10)

The former Bayern Munich man was not himself on the night as he was careless in possession and was a nervy figure in the back-four for Juventus. Benatia was lucky to play the entire 90 minutes after committing more than 1 cynical foul after being on a yellow card.

Georgio Chiellini (7/10)

Rock solid at the back, did not look perturbed by Kane’s freakish movements, always had him under the check. The Italian footballer Chiellini even came out with the ball to midfield with great effect and kept pushing his side to get the winning goal.

Alex Sandro (6.5/10)

Did his reputation no harm with a solid performance on the night. Sandro looked at home against Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen. Made no Hollywood tackles and tried anything adventurous going forward, a solid performance by the Juve left-back.

Sami Khedira (5/10)

The German had a horrible game and indeed a one he would like to forget in a hurry. Khedira played just 13 passes in the 66 minutes he was on the pitch. Spurs midfield ran his ragged and did not allow him space or time to run things from midfield.

Miralem Pjanic (7/10)

An outstanding vision for the first goal and the way he had started the match, signs were ominous for Tottenham, however, Pjanic’s impact faded out in the 2nd half after suffering a knock and being pressed even higher by Dier and Dembele.

Federico Bernardeschi (7/10)

The wide attacker had a bright game where he attempted 3 shots in the match, all on target and tested Hugo Lloris in Tottenham’s goal. Bernardeschi was always an available option for Juve’s midfield and was never afraid to take Spurs’ defense on.

Douglas Costa (6.5/10)

A solid game from the Brazilian, did not lose possession like he often tends to do, kept running the wide channel and position behind Higuain. Costa made a darting run right at the end of the match which may have sealed a win for the home side.

Mario Mandzkic (6.5/10)

Another selfless performance from the Croatian where he kept making runs in behind the Spurs defense to allow Costa and Higuain to enjoy the room in front of the opposing back-four. Mandzukic won 8 aerial duels on the night and his hold-up play was once again superb.

Gonzalo Higuain (8/10)

Sadly for Higuain, people will once again remember this match where he missed a glorious chance to win the match for his team with that penalty goof-up but the striker was on his best show tonight scoring 2 well-taken goals and often handled 2-3 Spurs defenders on his own.

Substitutes: Bentancur (5/10), Sturaro (NA), Asamoah (NA)

Tottenham Player Ratings vs Juventus

Hugo Lloris (6.5/10)

Hugo Lloris made at least 3 decent saves in the 90 minutes, albeit from a long distance but the Frenchman kept his team’s goal intact and did not commit an error like his counterpart.

Jan Vertonghen (6.5/10)

Vertonghen was as always calm on the ball, never made rash tackles and came up with a huge clearance right at the end when Douglas Costa had danced his way through the entire Spurs defense with Higuain waiting for a simple tap-in. Game saving clearance by the big man.

Davinson Sanchez (6/10)

Looked at ease while defending against Higuain, made 2 interceptions, 3 blocks and committed just 1 foul despite an early pressure by the home side.

Serge Aurier (5.5/10)

Now on the hind side, Mauricio Pochettino would have liked to start this match with Kieron Tripper as his right-back. Aurier never looked at ease, kept giving fouls away and he was the one who gave away the 2nd penalty after a silly tackle on Costa.

Ben Davies (5/10)

Gave away the first penalty, was ran ragged by Bernardeschi throughout the 90 minutes and offered little assistance to his side going forward. A night to forget for the Spurs left-back.

Eric Dier (6/10)

A solid performance in the middle for his time where he played 82 passes and stopped the Juve counter attack by being in the right position for his defense. Most of the night he played in between Vertonghen and Sanchez to help out his back-four.

Moussa Dembele (8/10)

The star man on the night for Tottenham as Dembele was literally everywhere. 116 touches, 100 passes, 8 dribbles, 4 tackles on the night – It was a game which was worthy of sealing a starting place in Belgium’s first match of the 2018 World Cup.

Erik Lamela (7/10)

A surprise selection for many but Lamela justified his manager’s call with a robust performance on the night. The Argentine cut back and fed his attackers with cute passes and his one-two touches with Eriksen, Kanem and Alli were delightful as well.

Dele Alli (7/10)

He was a constant problem for the Jue defense with his darting runs in the box and his ability to hold the ball in crunch situations was superb. Alli is very hard to be pushed away from the ball and he used it to his advantage to release Kane and Eriksen on numerous occasions.

Christian Eriksen (8/10)

Moussa Dembele had a great game on the night but my man of the match was this Danish superstar who keeps getting better and better with every big game Spurs have played in recent weeks. Eriksen’s goal was a show of his quick thinking on the ball which leveled the game for his team and got the crucial away goal. Eriksen played 82 passes, created 2 chances and attempted 6 shots in the match.

Harry Kane (7.5/10)

Could he score against Juventus like he does in the Premier League? You bet he can. The European media was glued to dissect Kane’s performance on the night but the Englishman came away with a reputation-enhancing display on the night. YES, he missed a golden-headed chance but barring that, Kane’s display and his goal were fantastic on the night.